Golf tee



Feb. 9, 1954 R, F, CARLSON 2,668,710

GOLF TEE Filed Sepf.. 14, 1949 VQM czwL-Lu' W Armm/EF Patented Feb. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOLF TEE Richard F. Carlson, Weymouth, Mass.

Application September 14, 1949, Serial No. 115,726

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a golf tee.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel and improved golf tee having an anchor pin attached thereto by a flexible connecting member and which may be employed with advantage as a direction guide and also to assist the golfer in maintaining an accurate swing and which serves as an anchor for the tee.

With this general object in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the golf tee hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claim at the end of this specification. i

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. l is a side elevation of a golf tee embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the golf tee showing the anchor pin i'n assembled relation therewith for convenience in carrying the unit.

In general, the present invention contemplates a novel golf tee adapted to be inserted or pressed into the ground to support a golf ball and which is provided with an anchor pin securely attached to the tee by means of a I'lexible strand or connecting member, the anchor pin being also pressed into the ground a short distance from the tee to serve as an anchor for the same. In the contemplated manner of use, the anchor pin is preferably pressed into the ground in front of the tee to extend the connecting member in alignment with the desired line of drive to the green, which not only serves as a direction guide but also assists the golfer in maintaining an accurate swing and follow through toward the green.

In practice, the tee and anchor pin are preferably made of a durable, non-corrosive metal and connected by a metal chain thus permitting the unit to be re-used and eliminating the necessity of carrying a number of the usual wooden peg tees. Provision is also made in the preferred embodiment of the invention for telescoping the anchor pin in assembled relation with the tee for convenience in carrying the unit, the connecting chain forming a loop which may be conveniently clipped to the golf bag or to a belt strap.

Referring now to the drawings, IO represents a golf tee generally conical in shape having a point E2 at one end to permit it to be inserted or pressed into the ground, and having a shallow spherically curved depression or concave surface Ill at its upper end for supporting a golf ball |8, as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. The tee may be pressed into the ground to support the ball at any desired height, or, as herein shown, the tee may be provided with a shouldered portion IB intermediate its ends which may be employed as a stop arranged to engage the surface of the ground to support the ball IG at a fixed height from the ground surface. The tee ID may also be provided With'a shouldered portion 20 adjacent its upper end, as illustrated in Fig. 1 to provide a protecting ring of metal about the edges of the concave surface H.

a In practice, the golf tee is preferably made of durable light weight metal such as an aluminum alloy having characteristics such as to resist chipping, breaking, dulling or bending to permit the tee to be pressed into hard ground without injury to the tee and which is also sufficiently light in weight and sufiiciently malleable to prevent damage to the club face in the event of contact therewith during the drive.

As illustrated herein, 22 represents a metal anchor pin, preferably of aluminum alloy, and which is also generally conical in shape having a substantially cyclindrical head 24 at its upper end, the anchor pin being attached to the tee by a fiexible metal chain 26 which may be of the type consisting of a plurality of beads connected together by metal links 28. One end of the chain 26 may be attached to the tee by inserting the end bead into an opening formed in the side of the tee immediately below the upper end thereof and then rolling or peening the surrounding metal of the tee over the bead. The other end of the chain may and preferably will be similarly attached to the top of the anchor pin 22 substantially in the center of the head 24.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the tee ID is preferably formed with a conical or other suitably shaped opening 32 in the upper end thereof for telescopically receiving the conical body portion of the anchor pin '22, and, the underside of the head 24 of the anchor pin is preferably provided with a spherical surface '34 to fit into the spherical depression lll in the top of the tee. The head 24 of the anchor pin may be of substantially the same diameter as the diameter of the shoulder portion 2G of the tee and, in practice the anchor pin is preferably arranged to fit snugly into the opening 32 in the tee tobe frictionally retained in assembled relation therewith when not in use. As thus assembled, the attached chain 26 forms a loop, as illustrated in Fig. 3, which may be oonveniently clipped to a golf bag or to a belt Strap.

In use, the tee is pressed into the ground to a depth such as to support the ball at the desired height and the anchor pin is then moved in front of the tee to extend the chain in alignment With the line of drive to the next green whereupon the pin is also inserted into the ground, the chain providing a direction guide and also serving to assist the golfer in maintaining 'an accurate swing and follow through when dri'ving to impar't accurate direction to the flight of the ball. In the event that the tee should be inadvertently driven from the ground,

the anchor pin serves to retain the tee, thus pre-V The connecting chain may be of' From the above description it will be observed that the present golf te'e having an anchor pin attached thereto by a fiexible chain, in addition to serv'ing as aretaim'ng member for preventing loss of the tee in the event 'it is driven from the ground, alo serves as 'a direction guide assisting the gol'fer in sWinging correctly.

U While the .preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it Will b understood that the invention may be emwbodied in other forms within the scope of the 'following claim. l

I Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

A golf tee compr-ising a metal tee member hav- -ng va lbody including a tapered shank portion termin-ating at its lower end in a conical point |and having a |substantiall'y Vconcave ball support- 4 ing socket at its upper end and provided with a conical opening extended downwardly into the body of said tee member from the bottom of the ball supporting socket, and a relatively small pointed metal anchor member having a head and a pointed shaft depending therefrom, said head having a bottom surface conforming to the ball supporting socket, and said shaft being of a size and shape to conform to the 1size and shape of said opening, whereby to enable the anchor member to be snugly nested within the socket and opening in said tee when the tee is not in use, the upper end of said conical opening being b'f substantially smaller diameter than that of the upper portion of the tapered shank portion of the tee member to provide Walls of substantiai 'thieknes's and strength around the ,anchor receiving opening, and a connecting member connecting said tee to the center of the top surface of the anchor.

RICHARD F. C-ARLSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,552,99l Jones Sept. 8,. 1925 1.588,815 Sillcocks 1-1 'June 15, 1926 1.631,270 Jones .1 June 7., 1927 1,655,751 Cody V Jan. 10, '1928 1,730,046 'Stow V Oct. 1, 1'929 2.073,328 Wasserlein Mar. 9,, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 624,814 France Apr. 12, 192,7 

